Solidarity

Report on the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Odessa

On April 10, 2017, more than two dozen organizations in 19 cities in 12 countries across Europe and North America together called on the government of Ukraine to immediately release all political prisoners and end the current wave of repression against relatives of the victims of the fascist-led massacre at Odessa’s House of Trade Unions on May 2, 2014. April 10 is a date of great significance to all Odessans, as it marks the day in 1944 when Odessa was liberated from years of fascist occupation. The Odessa Solidarity Campaign thanks everyone who participated in this effort and we look forward to working more closely with you in the future. For the full report (updated April 17, 2017), CLICK HERE.

It has been reported that you will be attending the NATO Summit to be held July 8 and 9 in Warsaw, Poland. It also has been reported that, during the Summit, you will be meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

I am writing to ask you to raise a particular issue during your meeting with the Ukrainian president: the request by the Council of Mothers of May 2 for an international investigation into the massacre of 46 people on May 2, 2014, at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa’s Kulikovo Field. The Council is made up of relatives of those who were killed in that terrible event. …

Message to UNAC from the Council of Mothers of May 2

June 5, 2016

Dear friends,

Council of Mothers of May 2 expresses deep appreciation to UNAC and personally Phil Wilayto, Bruce Gagnon, Regis Tremblay, Ana Edwards, Joe Lombardo, Anna Rebeil, Sara Flounders, Malachy Kilbride and the Rev. Rodney Hunter for their invaluable help and support in our work for peace, justice and fairness in Odessa (Ukraine).

We attach great importance to solidarity, which show progressive people all over the world in support of our hard struggle with the wave of radical nationalism that has swept our country in recent years. Especially worth mentioning is the courage it showed our American friends from UNAC arrived to Odessa on the second anniversary of the sad events of May 2nd.

We are confident that our joint efforts will be able to return the Ukrainian society on the path of peaceful development and to achieve the triumph of justice.

Once again – thank you for everything, dear friends of UNAC! We wish your conference fruitful work and further achievements.

At the end of World War Two, the city of Odessa in present-day Ukraine was declared a Hero City by the Soviet Union for its determined resistance to Nazi occupation. It’s a designation still valued by the people of this multicultural metropolis of a million people on the western shore of the Black Sea.

On May 2, 2016, Odessans once again showed their great capacity for courage. Defying threats by local and national fascist organizations, thousands of city residents, accompanied by international monitors from across Europe and the United States, gathered to pay their respects to the victims of a fascist massacre and press their demand for an international investigation. …

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April 25, 2016 – Report by the United National Antiwar Coalition(UNAC)

‘Statement of Solidarity’ with 2nd anniversary May 2 memorial in Odessa delivered to Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., followed by press conference

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 25 ­­ — Today Ana Edwards, representing the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), and Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst and now prominent peace activist, delivered a Statement of Solidarity with Odessa to the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C.

The statement calls on the governments of Ukraine, the United States and the city of Odessa to ensure the civic rights of the people of Odessa to hold a memorial program this coming May 2 to mark the second anniversary of the massacre of 46 pro­federation activists in that city at the hands of right­wing extremists. The memorial is being organized by the Mothers’ Committee for May 2, comprised of family members, friends and supporters of the murdered activists.

The Solidarity Statement, signed by 139 human rights organizations and activists from 20 countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, also supports the Mothers’ Committee public call for the United Nations Human Rights Committee to arrange an impartial investigation into the events of May 2, 2014. Although the attack was videoed by numerous participants and passersby, to date not one of the perpetrators has been brought to justice.

The Solidarity Statement also announced that UNAC is sending a delegation of U.S. human rights activists to monitor the May 2 memorial program in Odessa. Other delegations will be present from France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Israel and Sweden.

The Solidarity Statement was received by an embassy staff member on behalf of the Ukrainian ambassador. Immediately after, Edwards and McGovern held a press conference outside the embassy at which they read the solidarity statement and answered questions from reporters. Media present included Tass News Agency of Russia, RT (Russia Today) America, Channel One Russian TV and RTRTV, a Russian­language television station whose audience includes 50,000 subscribers in the New York City area. The Russian language is spoken by an estimated 171 million people in 17 countries.

While no major Western media were present, it is expected that the broad news coverage by major Russian media will put pressure on other media outlets to cover the story of the May 2 memorial, the international solidarity campaign and the international delegations that will be in Odessa on May 2 to monitor the memorial program.

Ana Edwards is a founding member of UNAC and chairs the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality in Richmond, Va.

Ray McGovern is a former analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a prominent member of Veterans for Peace and Co­founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is a broad alliance of U.S. justice and peace organizations founded in 2010. (www.UNACpeace.org)

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April 24, 2016

Statement in support of the May 2 memorial to be held in Odessa, Ukraine, and for a United Nations investigation into the tragic events of May 2, 2014

On May 2, 2016, a memorial will be held in Odessa, Ukraine, to honor the memory of scores of pro-democracy activists who were brutally murdered on that date in Odessa two years ago.

There is no reason for the City authorities to forbid a peaceful memorial, but right-wing radicals – some of whom are believed to have been involved in the events of 2014 – have declared that they will not allow it to proceed.

The tragedy of Odessa and the continuing danger of right-wing violence in that beautiful city is of growing concern to decent-minded people around the world.

Therefore, we the undersigned representatives of human rights organizations in the United States and other countries hereby call on the governments of Odessa, Ukraine and the United States to ensure that the civic rights of those attending the May 2 memorial in Odessa will be respected, including the delegations of international monitors who will be present on that day.

We further respectfully appeal to the United Nations Human Rights Committee to initiate an international investigation into the events of May 2, 2014, as requested by family members, friends and supporters of those who died on that day.

According to widely published reports, protesters opposed to the February 2014 coup that overthrew Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had set up a symbolic tent city in Odessa’s Kulikovo Square, in front of the five-story House of Trade Unions. On May 2, right-wing soccer fans, whipped up by pro-coup activists, attacked and burned the tent city, driving the much smaller group of protesters into the union building. The mob then set the building on fire. At least 46 people died from burns, smoke inhalation, gunfire and beatings. Many more were wounded. It was the worst case of violence in Odessa in many decades.

Ever since the massacre, representatives of the families of those who died have held weekly vigils to honor the memory of their loved ones. Many of these memorials have been harassed by pro-coup groups. As recently as April 10, a large gathering of people celebrating the liberation of Odessa from Nazi occupation was attacked by right-wing thugs. These same forces are now are threatening to physically prevent the second May 2 anniversary memorial from taking place.

At a formal meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Committee held on March 21 in Geneva, family members and their supporters asked the committee to initiate a long-overdue impartial investigation into the events of May 2, 2014. For their part, the pro-coup forces are expressing their opposition to such an investigation. This contradiction alone should make clear which side wants the truth to be revealed and which side wants it to remain hidden.

Again, we call on the United Nations to initiate the requested investigation. And we call on the governments of Odessa, Ukraine and the United States to ensure that the civic rights of those attending the May 2 memorial in Odessa are respected.

This statement was initiated by the United National Antiwar Coalition (www.UNACpeace.org), a broad coalition of peace and justice organizations in the United States. UNAC encourages the circulation of this petition among human rights organizations all over the world. Please send all new endorsements to: UNAC, PO Box 123, Delmar, NY 12054 USA; Email: UNACpeace@gmail.com

“A conference ‘Ukraine: Maidan, ODESSA – two years later’ was held today in Geneva. It took place in the UN in Palais des Nations. Mr. Amir Forotan, director of the Human Rights Agency, moderated event. The conference turned to be a new field of confrontation between the Ukrainian pro-coup activists and their opponents and victims.”